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KEVIN HINES HAS battled bipolar disorder and depression for the past 17 years. At the age of 19, he was in the depths of despair and couldn’t imagine ever living a happy life, but now he spends his days travelling the world as a motivational speaker, sharing his story in a bid to make a difference.
Hines, from San Francisco, USA, spent the early years of his childhood in an unstable household. Both his parents suffered from drug addiction and often left him and his brother unattended in motel rooms for hours on end.
“We would be neglected lying in our own filth, screaming and crying not to be neglected,” Hines told TheJournal.ie.
One day, a clerk at one of the motel’s Hines was left at heard his screams and called the police. Hines and his sibling were taken into child protective custody and sent into the foster care system. His brother soon died from a case of bronchitis but Hines himself “got lucky” and was taken into the loving Hines family home.
“I grew up in a good childhood after my traumatic infancy, but one thing that never left me was my detachment and abandonment issues that I developed at a young age. I ended up being diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 17, that both my biological parents had before me,” Hines said.
The road to recovery
After battling with his disorder for two years, Hines told TheJournal.ie that it took him into “such a depressive low” at the age of 19 that he felt like he was a burden to everyone around him. He subsequently attempted to take his own life. His darkest moment came as he jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge but he survived.
For a number of years to follow, Hines spent seven stints in hospital working on his mental wellbeing.
During one stay, Hines said that he came to the sudden realisation that he had to change something in his life and begin to take his recovery process more seriously. He decided to try to foster his mental anguish into positive energy – to tell his story and help others like himself.
“I started working towards my mental health, exercising every day and eating healthy. I worked tirelessly for my brain health and wellbeing, I started to have great success,” Hines said.
He soon pinpointed one essential must-do for those suffering from mental health issues – to speak out and ask for help.
“I became so self-aware of my illness that when the symptoms came on I would be honest and tell someone who loves me, I could always be safe,” Hines said.
Hines now travels across the USA and around the world to share his story of recovery, in a bid that it will have a positive impact on someone in need.
Next Thursday, Hines is travelling to Ireland to speak to over 7,000 people at this year’s Cycle Against Suicide’s Student Leaders’ Congress in the 3Arena.
Cycle Against Suicide is an initiative started five years ago to raise awareness of the help and support for anyone battling depression, self-harm, or at risk of suicide. Once a year, hundreds of people cycle a route that passes through 17 counties and 67 towns in Ireland as part of the initiative.
“I’m going to work with Cycle Against Suicide which is, for me, a huge combination of a 17-year effort to help people find a way to change their lives and find hope and recovery,” Hines said.
I’m happy and I’m happily married but I still struggle with extreme paranoia, hallucinations and serious depression. I’m just able to accept my symptoms now when they occur, talk about them to people when they occur, I have a group support system.
Offering words of support and solidarity with those who suffer from mental health issues, Hines said: ”When you don’t silence the pain and you actually talk about what you’re going through to the people who do care and empathise, you can get past it one day at a time.”
He said that it is vital for everyone, whether they have mental health problems or not, to educate themselves so they can support and understand the pain of those struggling.
With the suicide crisis in Ireland, and of course around the world, it is pertinent that every community that deals with this struggle finds a way to be kind and compassionate to those suffering mentally and understanding of the thoughts that you want to take your life.
“If you can understand it if you can learn about it and if you can empathise about it, that is when you can best help your community and the people suffering today,” Hines said.
“You can make a difference when you’re willing to open your eyes and say I got your back. That’s the message I’m going to bring to Cycle Against Suicide.”
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Alot he fking knows…theyre on another planet the lot of them..whats the alternative to oil, gas or coal without extortionate expenses to fit solar or the next energy source..they’ve jumped the gun with this one and offered no incentive to switch to cleaner energy sources…and yes I know there are grants in place but its not enough…if they want to make an impression, then don’t take money off people to justify it saving the planet.. Build a proper program outlining the options for people, a cost effective solution instead of take take take.
@Craig Clancy: People simply cannot afford grants, costs to much to upgrade systems. Initial outlaw is to much,
@Craig Clancy: Grants are part of the give. Green energy such as wind is subsidised. What’s your great plan to reduce pollution without hitting people’s pockets?
@Dave Barrett: I would love to go solar or any other viable resource but as you pointed out it’s too expensive even with the grant..how much was it for all those water meters that are due to need upgrading soon? Surely they could of put that money towards a nationwide energy campaign..biggest tax take last year and still the roads are in $hite, homelessness is rampant still, hospitals over run and understaffed but yet they still suck us dry of every extra cent we try use to survive…its going to hit a boiling point soon and some one will take matters in to their own hands.
@Mickety Dee: how about stop taking more and more money off people and give them a chance to actually switch over or upgrade..they ran this way too quick and gave no viable plan for anyone, absolutely no incentive to switch over..literally said here are your options off you go now hurry before we start taking just that little squeeze more off you…how is it our fault that they’re are not other things in place…start by fixing the appalling public transport, focus more on helping people change over to solar rather than punish them for not having it, work with the people..thats the problem they are so detached from reality its frightening.
@Craig Clancy: Irish people lack back bone. Yellow vests needed.
@Craig Clancy: need to take vat off renewables!
@Aidan Conway: alot more than take the vat off.
@Dave Barrett: well anyone who protests is called an extremist or anti vaxer or a crazy person by the media, or protesting is made illegal like the truckers one in Canada. Not much the normal person can do anymore to oppose anything.
The main reason for cost of living rises is we dont have a regulator to question why everything is on the rise
Oh wait a minute we do have a regulator .
He must have fallen asleep like Eamonn and everything went up when his eyes were closed.
@Stephen Carslake: That’s not the reason for increases. Read the media of any country in the world and you’ll see that.
The Irish energy regulator does not influence prices in the US, UK, Germany, Spain, Turkey, France, Italy etc etc
Our energy regulator may make dubious calls but they are not the sole reason for the price increases.
@Lee King Buckett: they’re allowing energy companies raise standing charges, which are nothing to do with global energy supplies. The bill increases can be excused for global rises, but there’s no reason for raising standing charges other than opportunistic greed which is where the regulator should step in .. but doesn’t!
@Rob Gale: Agreed but as per the original comment that’s not ‘the main reason’ for price increases.
The main reason is a global energy crisis, the standing charge increase is gouging but not major.
@Lee King Buckett: I’m not sure about the gas suppliers, but:
ESB Networks are managing/maintaining the whole electricity infrastructure and (most/a lot of) the production.
I would guess, that’s covered with the standing charges, or at least the major chunk of it? IF they increased the charges to Energia, Airtricity, or whoever, they will only pass the charges on to the customer, I guess?
You have to laugh that the Green Party under Eamonn Ryan seemingly sacrificed all of their principles in government on areas like greyhound racing, hare coursing, neutrality, direct provision etc in exchange for this carbon tax that would ultimately become redundant through global events and fudged away from making a difference.
Brilliant stuff Green TDs, you’ve achieved nothing in government other than providing the necessary numbers for FF & FG to implement their policies. Bravo.
This is literally bizzare, as in really really bizzare, one of the main exporters of oil/gas IE Russia is all but closing its supply to Europe, causing massive price increases across the board. I am no expert here at all, but Eamonn do you think I would be paying over the odds if I had an alterative way to get said energy? There is no alteratives even remotely ready to take over. Even if I installed a 10kW solar system with battery, it still needs subbing from the grid, which is again, gas powered for the most part. Also, in saying that, I am just talking about household energy useage. I have no idea about farms, but what I do know is all that farm machinary is fuel based, what alternatives have been given to farmers, that’s just one industry. Also, yet again, moving everything to electric based is putting massive pressure on the national grid, which again is still massively gas based on the back end and is nearly keeling over with 15/20 odd data centres in the mix and Eamonn and co think this same grid is ready to handle the entire country going fully electric. Seriously, what plannet is this lad on.
@Dave.: Also, I just want to add. Seriously, when are the Irish people actually going to get up and march on the Dail, this is not right. How can it be, as one poster pointed out, fuel prices have increased so much that its has actually bettered any increase the Carbon Tax would yeild, yet goverment still continue to push for more increases. Are we really as a nation going to sit down and take this no problem?
@Dave.: Russia has not reduced gas or oil supplies to Europe at all. Ireland gets its gas from Scotland.
The war in Ukraine has resulted in speculative increases in oil but gas has reduced in price in the last 5 weeks. The causes of energy price spikes predate the war in Ukraine.
Other than that, you’re correct about the lack of alternatives and the fact that a carbon tax won’t reduce usage at all.
They will put the Tax on To Keep Ryan on Board and then give it Back some other Way What Load of Bollicks
The whole point of a carbon tax is to disincentivise (or in our case more likely to avoid EU fines). For gas and oil, the price has already risen high enough to disincentivise. Adding any more money is just making poor people poorer.
Also, how can Irish people be disincentivised to use a car when we have the worst public transport infrastructure in Western Europe? We have very few safe bike lanes (and those that we have abruptly end for no reason). Even in Dublin.
Its just a load of virtue signalling and kicking the can down the road. Like the paper straws, none of this is going to make any sort of meaningful difference. What we need is major investments in renewables, investment in our public transport and cycling infrastructure, and much more. Not a bunch of new taxes.
@Tomo: Avoid EU fines ??? This State pay the EU fines every year because they are charging the Irish motorists VRT which is outlawed by the EU .. so they know exactly what they are doing.. Instead of taxing the public Carbon Tax, they should be heavily investing in the ESB to help them build multiple wind farms…and not giving out subsidies to private companies
Where are all the FF/FG/GP middle leg huggers today? Very quiet…surely it’s hitting home to them on the failure of their parties?
Az if things were not expensive enough, soon enough a car owner wont be able to afforx to fuel a car pay for home heating.surely the government can off put this raise.
The easiest way to offset the burden of the tax is not to introduce it due to the current circumstances. But they will go on and on with all kinds of waffle just to keep the Greens on board. Personally I have lost all faith in FF and FG.
I wonder what the US multinationals are paying for electricity for all the data centers that are gobbling up loads of out electricity. I’d bet they pay seriously less that the average person. All new data centers and other non essential type IT should be paused until this is under control. Our citizens can’t afford food or electricity but we have many times redundancy in our data storage incase of a few mins outage on watching netflix. Great priorities we have in the 21st century.
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